Mobile agent point-of-sale (pos)

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for conducting transactions and financial transfers utilizing a mobile device communicatively coupled with a mobile communications network and executing a mobile point-of-sale application. According to some embodiments, the mobile point-of-sale application is adapted to conduct money transfer transactions by communicating transaction information through the mobile communications network to a money transfer provider system that processes the money transfer and communicates receipt information to the mobile point-of-sale application. Additionally, according to some embodiments, an account associated with an agent of the money transfer provider can be used in money transfer transactions conducted by the mobile point-of-sale application.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/531,188, filed Nov. 3, 2014, and entitled “MOBILE AGENT POINT-OF-SALE(POS),” which is a continuation U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/755,844, filed Apr. 7, 2010, issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,880,425, andentitled, “MOBILE AGENT POINT-OF-SALE (POS),” the entire disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference, for all purposes, as if fullyset forth herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Money transfer services are used extensively to transfer money and paybills through the use of wire transfers, money orders, and othertransactions. The use of such services, however, usually requires arepresentative of a money transfer service provider to have a fixedphysical location with Internet access, having one or more Point-Of-Sale(POS) terminals, stationary computer equipment, and printers. “Wiring”money to a receiver, therefore, requires a sender to travel to therepresentative's fixed location to deposit the money in person. Theselocations may be limited to urban areas where the representative canmeet a high demand for money transfer services, and maintaining aphysical location with stationary equipment may be costly.

The following invention serves to remedy these and other problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to financial transfers. Morespecifically, the invention relates to systems and methods of conductingmoney transfer and other transactions utilizing a mobile device runninga mobile point-of-sale application and connected to a mobilecommunications network.

Systems and methods are disclosed for conducting transactions andfinancial transfers utilizing a mobile device communicatively coupledwith a mobile communications network and executing a mobilepoint-of-sale application. According to some embodiments, the mobilepoint-of-sale application can be adapted to conduct money transfertransactions by communicating transaction information through the mobilecommunications network to a money transfer provider system thatprocesses the money transfer and communicates receipt information to themobile point-of-sale application. Additionally, according to someembodiments, an account associated with an agent of the money transferprovider can be used in money transfer transactions conducted by themobile point-of-sale application.

The present invention can be further adapted to conduct international orcross-boarder transactions. For example, the mobile device running themobile point-of-sale application can be used in a transaction to sendmoney where the mobile device is located in one country and a recipientof the money is located in a second country. When the mobilepoint-of-sale application can be used to send money, the money transferprovider system can be adapted to withdraw money from an accountassociated with an agent of the money transfer provider when the agentcollects the money for the transaction. Furthermore, according to someembodiments of the present invention, the mobile point-of-saleapplication can be adapted to calculate and provide an exchange ratebetween a plurality of currencies. Other embodiments of the presentinvention can provide for paying bills or funding prepaid cards byutilizing the mobile point-of-sale application.

The systems and methods disclosed can also provide for transactions toreceive money utilizing a mobile device running the mobile point-of-saleapplication. Such transactions can also include international moneytransfers, where the mobile device running the mobile point-of-saleapplication is located in one country and the money is sent from asource located in a second country. In such instances, the moneytransfer provider system can be adapted to transfer money to an accountassociated with the agent of the money transfer provider when the agentprovides money to the recipient.

The present invention can use several different types of accountsassociated with an agent for transfers involving the mobilepoint-of-sale application. Certain embodiments can include one of thefollowing: a prepaid account, a credit card account, and a bank account.

According to some embodiments, the mobile point-of-sale application canutilize different functionality of the mobile device. For instance, themobile point-of-sale application can be configured to transmit datarepresenting one or more photos taken from a camera coupled to themobile device during a transaction.

The systems and methods disclosed also can provide for transactions inaddition to money transfers. For instance, the mobile point-of-saleapplication can gather and send data from an applicant to a moneytransfer provider during an on-boarding process to be used indetermining whether to allow an applicant to become an agent of themoney transfer provider. In some instances, the mobile point-of-saleapplication can be adapted to gather biometric or other data gatheredfrom a device coupled with the mobile device running the mobilepoint-of-sale application. The mobile point-of-sale application canfurther be used to initiate phone-based training and download additionalinformation from the transfer service provider, such as marketing,training, transaction statistics, compensation levels, or othermaterials, according to further embodiments. This functionalityultimately allows anyone with a phone or other mobile device to becomean agent of the money transfer provider, which, in turn, gives acustomer the ability to send or receive money transfers virtuallyanywhere through the use of a mobile device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for makingfinancial transfers with a mobile POS application, according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computingarchitecture upon which embodiments of the present invention may beimplemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary flow for a transaction to send money,according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary flow for a transaction to receive money,according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary flow for providing a payout amount andfees with a foreign exchange rate, according to one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary flow for a method of obtaining photoswith a mobile device for use in transactions, according to oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary flow for a method of conducting an agenton-boarding process by utilizing the mobile POS application, accordingto one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide systems and methods forenabling money transfer and related transactions utilizing a mobiledevice running a mobile point-of-sale (POS) application. For example, amoney transfer transaction can be initiated through the mobile POSapplication, which can run on a mobile device used or controlled by anagent of the money transfer provider. The mobile POS application caninclude the ability to send and receive money transfer transactionswithout the need for an additional, fixed POS device. This enables anagent to provide a customer the ability to send or receive moneytransfers virtually anywhere through the use of a mobile device.

According to some embodiments, a sender can initiate a transaction tosend money through an agent having a mobile device running a mobile POSapplication. The agent can then collect identification and paymentinformation from the sender, which can then be transmitted by the mobilePOS device through a wireless network to a money transfer providersystem. According to some embodiments, the money transfer providersystem can then use the identification and payment information to thenmake a determination of whether to process the money transactionpayment. This determination can be made based on a set of defined rules,which can take into account various governmental and/or banking rules,service conditions, etc. Upon determining to process the moneytransaction payment, the money transfer provider system can execute thepayment by transferring money from a source account to one or moredestinations, in accordance with delivery options selected for thepayment. The selected delivery options can be based on informationprovided by the sender, agent, money transfer provider, and/or arecipient. The delivery options can include, for example, deliveringfunds to a bank account of a recipient, delivering funds to a pre-paidaccount, delivering funds to a funds withholding system, deliveringfunds to a third party, delivering a draft check, delivering fundsthrough an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), and other options. It will beunderstood that for many money transfer transactions, the money transferprovider system can transfer money through a financial transfer network.It will further be understood that the money transfer provider systemcan store the money transaction payment information in a queue for laterexecution of the money transfer. The financial transfer network can thensend a notification of payment to the receiver of the money and return areceipt to the mobile POS application, which is then given to thesender.

According to further embodiments, the mobile POS application can providefor additional data to be gathered to conduct adequate Know YourCustomer (KYC) and consumer identification. For example, the POSapplication can run on a portable device coupled to or comprising acamera, by which the agent can capture the photograph of a customer anda photograph of the customer's valid photo identification. The POS canbe further adapted to embed accompanying information with photographs,such as a timestamp, and transmit the photographs to a remote computeroperated by the money transfer provider. And can link the photographswith a transaction or the like.

The mobile POS application may further use information gathered from asender and/or recipient of a money transfer transaction to create anaccount with the money transfer provider. Such an account may be used tostore information in order to uniquely identify the particular senderand/or receiver, and the information may be stored locally by the POSapplication or centrally by the money transfer provider. Information caninclude name, address, phone number, email address, a customer number,account information (e.g., stored value account identifier, bank accountnumber and/or ABA routing number), tax number (e.g., Social SecurityNumber or Taxpayer Identification Number), drivers' license number,state ID number, student ID number, and other information. Accounts maybe used to expedite the money transfer process, bypassing the need togather necessary identification information for a sender or receiver bymaintaining this information on a secure database. The money transferprovider can further use such accounts to provide rewards incentives torepeat customers.

It will be understood that embodiments of the mobile POS application canaccommodate numerous types of money transactions, international ordomestic. For transactions involving paying or receiving money in cash,an account associated with the agent collecting or paying out the moneycan be used by the money transfer provider to reduce fraud. For example,if a sender pays for a send money transaction in cash, the agent cancollect the funds and submit the money transfer information via themobile POS application. The money transfer provider system can thenprocess the transaction by withdrawing the amount from the accountassociated with the agent who collected the funds. The amount withdrawnmay or may not include fees collected by the agent. A similar processoccurs when a recipient of a money transfer transaction receives cash.In this case, the agent can pay the properly identified recipient incash, submitting the payout information through the mobile POSapplication to the money transfer provider system, which credits theaccount associated with the agent for the amount paid out.

It will be understood that an account associated with an agent can takea variety of forms. For instance, the account may be a bank account, acredit or credit card account, or a prepaid account. The account may bemaintained by the money transfer provider directly, or it may bemaintained by another entity, such as a bank, through which the moneytransfer provider can withdraw from, deposit into, credit, and/or debitthe account. The money transfer provider can have access to informationregarding the account, and can further require the agent to have aminimum amount in the account in order to process certain transactionsinvolving the account. It will be understood that an account can beassociated with an agent in a variety of ways, including, but notlimited to, the money transfer provider maintaining a database thatprovides account information for an agent, and the agent accountinformation being transmitted by the mobile POS application as part of amoney transfer transaction. Alternatively, the account can be associatedwith the mobile POS application running on a particular mobile device,such that a money transfer provider system receiving transactioninformation from a mobile POS application running on a particular mobiledevice will be associated with a particular account. A unique identifierassociated with the particular mobile device can be maintained by themobile POS application and can comprise one or more of a variety ofidentifiers including, but not limited to, a personal identificationnumber (PIN) assigned by the money transfer provider, a social securitynumber, a drivers license number, a media access control (MAC) address,an electronic serial number (ESN), and an international mobile equipmentidentifier (IMEI).

Further transactions may be accommodated by the mobile POS application.For example, the mobile POS application can be adapted to enable acustomer to pay bills—whether the bills are for the customer or anotherperson—by transferring money to a biller. According to some embodiments,the biller may reside in the same or a different country from thecustomer. The mobile POS device may further be adapted to accommodatetransactions involving adding additional funds to a prepaid phone cardor other prepaid account associated with the customer or another person.According to some embodiments, the entity maintaining the prepaidaccount may reside in the same or a different country from the customer.The mobile POS device can further be adapted to calculate an exchangerate for such transactions involving different currencies, as detailedbelow.

Embodiments of the mobile POS application also enable a customer tocheck the status of a money transfer or other transaction based on aunique identifier for the transaction. For example, a money transferprovider can provide a transaction number, such as a Money TransferControl Number (MTCN), to a sender sending a money transfer payment. Acustomer, for example the sender or the recipient of funds, can laterprovide the transaction number to an agent having a mobile devicerunning the mobile POS application. Upon entering the transaction numberor other information related to the transaction, the mobile POSapplication can then transmit the information to a remote system, suchas a money transfer provider system, via a wireless network. The remotesystem can check the status of the transfer and provide a response tothe mobile POS application, which can then be relayed to the inquiringcustomer.

Some embodiments provide a mobile POS application which can performunique calculations related to a transaction, such as foreign exchangerates, actual payout amounts, and associated fees. Such calculations canbe performed on the mobile POS application itself using local data orperformed on a remote computer with the result transmitted to the mobilePOS application through a wireless network. Such calculations canfurther include information provided by an agent or other user, orinformation received from a remote source via the wireless network. Forexample, for a transaction to send money, the sender paying $100 fromthe United States to Mexico to be paid out in pesos, the mobile devicecan receive input from a user indicating a desired money transfer of$100 from the United States to Mexico. The mobile POS device can thensend a request for a foreign exchange rate to the money transferprovider system, which returns an exchange rate. If the exchange rate is$1 to 10 pesos, the mobile POS device can calculate a payout amount of1,000 pesos, and provide that information to the user. As stated above,the mobile POS application can further retrieve and/or calculateassociated fees, use various types of data in its calculations, and/orretrieve real-time data from various sources.

In some instances, the mobile POS application can additionally handlethe authorizing of a new agent, also known as agent on-boarding. Themobile POS application can collect information about the potential agentsuch as liquidity for transactions, class of trade, and personalidentification information such as, address, phone number, emailaddress, personal identification number, account information (e.g.,stored value account identifier, bank account number and/or ABA routingnumber), tax number (e.g., Social Security Number or TaxpayerIdentification Number), drivers' license number, state ID number,student ID number, etc. The mobile POS application can then transmit theinformation to a money transfer provider system for screening andapproval by the money transfer provider. In some embodiments, theinformation can be used to set up an account associated with theapplicant for use in money transfer transactions once the applicant isapproved to be an agent. Moreover, according to some embodiments, themobile POS application can run on a portable device comprising orconnected to components adapted to gather information in various forms,which can also be transmitted to the money transfer provider forscreening and approval. It will be understood by one having ordinaryskill in the art that such components can include a card reader adaptedto read information on an identification, credit, or other type of card,a camera that can be used to take pictures of the prospective agentand/or identification information, a microphone, and biometric sensorsthat can gather biometric data from the prospective agent, such as afingerprint. The additional information gathered by one or more suchcomponents can also be used by the money transfer provider for screeningand approval.

The mobile POS application can also be adapted to train agents,providing the agent with up-to-date information via the mobile devicewithout the need for in-person training. According to some embodiments,the mobile POS application can include the functionality to conductreal-time and/or phone-based training on how to complete transactions,how to identify and stop fraud, how to complete KYC requirements, andmore. For a mobile device having telephone functionality, the mobile POSdevice can be adapted to utilize these features to conduct a call forphone-based training. The mobile POS application can further utilizeother features of a mobile device for real-time training, such as SMS,instant messaging, VOIP, or other types of real-time communication. Themobile POS application can be further adapted to download trainingmaterials comprising video, audio, text, or any combination thereof.Some training may be required prior to allowing the user to transfermoney.

According to some embodiments, the mobile POS application and otherapplications, such as training and marketing programs, can be downloadedonto a mobile device by a variety of means, thereby accommodating thedifferent types of mobile devices that may run the POS application. Forexample, the applications can be provided for download onto a mobiledevice through an application store, for example through Apple's iPhoneApp Store, or they can be downloaded onto the mobile device viaover-the-air SMS (“OTA download”). Updates to the downloadedapplications can be provided in a similar manner.

The mobile POS application can also be adapted to provide the agent withother forms of information from the money transfer provider. In suchembodiments, the POS application can report incentivizing data such asnumbers of transactions, compensation levels, and rewards for specifictiers of transactions completed. The mobile POS application can furtherbe adapted to provide access to marketing promotions for customers.

A transaction to send money can be received at an application running onthe money transfer provider system, which can be, for example, a servermaintained by a money transfer provider. The transaction to send moneycan be completed based at least in part on the payment informationassociated with the transaction. In some cases, the payment informationcan indicate at least one destination account for the transaction. Insuch cases, completing the money transfer transaction can comprisecrediting the at least one destination account indicated by the paymentinformation. Alternatively, the payment information can indicate aplurality of destination accounts for the transaction to send money. Insuch cases, the payment information may further indicate a distributionof funds of the transaction to send money to each of the destinationaccounts. In such cases, completing the transaction to send money cancomprise crediting each of the destination accounts indicated by thepayment information and can be based on the distribution indicated bythe payment information. Additional details of various embodiments ofthe present invention will be described below with reference to thefigures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary system for makingfinancial transfers with a mobile POS application, according to someembodiments of the invention. As illustrated here, the system 100 caninclude a money transfer provider system 140 such as the systemsoperated by Western Union or another money transfer provider service.The money transfer provider 140 can be communicatively coupled with afinancial transfer network 155. Also communicatively coupled with thefinancial transfer network 155 can be one or more account providers 160and 170, which can maintain, control, or otherwise manipulate source anddestination accounts 165 and 175, respectively. The source account 165can be any of a variety of accounts, such as a traditional bank account,in which case source account provider 160 can be a financialinstitution. According to other embodiments, the source account 165 canbe a virtual (or e-money) wallet, in which case the source accountprovider 160 can be a mobile operator or agent. Similarly, thedestination account 175 can be any of a variety of accounts, such as abank or virtual (e-money) account, and the destination account provider170 can be a financial institution, mobile operator, or agentaccordingly. Additionally, as explained in embodiments detailed herein,a recipient of a money transfer may also receive the money in cash at aregular agent location. Generally speaking and as understood by oneskilled in the art, the money transfer provider 140 can access a sourceaccount 165 of one account provider 160 and/or a destination account 175of the same or a different account provider 170 to affect a transferfrom and/or to the accounts 165 and 175 via the financial transfernetwork 155.

The money transfer provider system 145 can also be adapted to identifythe entities and/or accounts associated with a transaction and/ordetermine a destination for a payment of the transaction. For example,the entities and/or accounts can be identified based on data maintainedin a verification database or other repository, which can be maintainedinternally or externally to the money transfer provider system 145.

The system can also include an agent 120 of the money transfer provider140. The agent 120 can comprise an individual, group, retail location,or other entity having a mobile device 121. Generally speaking, theagent 120 allows customers to access the services of the money transferprovider 140. A sender 110 can initiate a transaction to transfer moneyto a recipient.

The system 100 can also include a mobile network 130, such as a cellularor other wireless network, communicatively coupled with the mobiledevice 121 and the money transfer provider 140. It should be understoodthat while only one mobile network 130 is illustrated here for the sakeof simplicity and clarity, multiple mobile networks 130 can be present.Also, it should be understood by someone having ordinary skill in theart that the communicative link between mobile device 121 and moneytransfer provider 140 can include additional communication networksand/or conduits; the money transfer provider 140 need not directlyinterface with the mobile network 130. For example, mobile device 121can access the Internet through the mobile network, allowing the mobilePOS application 125 to communicate with the money transfer providersystem 145. The money transfer provider system 145, on the other hand,can access the Internet to receive the communication through a varietyof means, which can include non-mobile networks, such as fiber-optic,coaxial cable, and/or other hard-wired means. It will be understood byone having ordinary skill in the art that the system 100 represents someembodiments of the invention, and that the invention allows for avariety of other configurations.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computingarchitecture adapted to run software applications and send and receiveinformation through a communications system 260. This computingarchitecture illustrated can be used in whole, in part, or with variousmodifications, to provide the functions of the mobile device 121, themoney transfer provider system 145, and/or other components of theinvention such as those discussed above.

The computing architecture 200 is shown comprising hardware elementsthat can be electrically coupled via a bus 280. The hardware elementsmay include one or more central processing units 210, one or more inputdevices 220 (e.g., a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen display, a numberpad, a camera, a biometric sensor, etc.), and one or more output devices230 (e.g., a display, a speaker, a printer, etc.). The computingarchitecture 200 can also include one or more storage device 240. By wayof example, storage device(s) 240 can be disk drives, optical storagedevices, solid-state storage device such as a random access memory(“RAM”) and/or a read-only memory (“ROM”), which can be programmable,flash-updateable and/or the like.

The computing architecture 200 can additionally include acomputer-readable storage media reader 250, a communications system 260(e.g., a modem, a network card (wireless or wired), an infra-redcommunication device, Bluetooth™ device, cellular communication device,etc.), and working memory 270, which may include RAM and ROM devices asdescribed above.

The computer-readable storage media reader 250 can further be connectedto a computer-readable storage medium, together (and, optionally, incombination with storage device(s) 240) comprehensively representingremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containingcomputer-readable information. The communications system 260 can permitdata to be exchanged with a network, system, computer and/or othercomponent described above.

The computing architecture 200 can also comprise software elements,shown as being currently located within a working memory 270, includingan operating system 274 and/or other code 278. It should be appreciatedthat alternate embodiments of a computing architecture 200 can havenumerous variations from that described above. For example, customizedhardware might also be used and/or particular elements might beimplemented in hardware, software (including portable software, such asapplets), or both. Furthermore, connection to other computing devicessuch as network input/output and data acquisition devices can alsooccur.

Software of computing architecture 200 may include code 278 forimplementing any or all of the function of the various elements of thearchitecture as described herein. For example, software, stored onand/or executed by a computer system such as system 200, can provide thefunctions of collecting, transmitting, and processing informationrelating to money transfer transactions and/or gathering, transmitting,and processing information from an applicant for determination by themoney transfer provider to determine whether to allow the applicant tobecome an agent of the money transfer provider.

As noted above, embodiments of the present invention provide forconducting transactions and financial transfers utilizing a mobiledevice communicatively coupled with a mobile communications network andexecuting a mobile point-of-sale application. For example, onetransaction can be to send money with a payment given to an agent,wherein the mobile POS device is used to conduct a transfer of money andan agent collects a payment from the sender to fund the transaction.Another transaction can be to receive a payment from a money transferwherein the mobile POS device conducts the transaction to receive themoney transfer, and an agent pays the receiver. Another feature of thepresent invention, according to certain embodiments, can be a mobile POSapplication providing for a calculation of a rate of exchange betweendifferent currencies. According to certain embodiments, a mobile POSapplication can also be used to gather photo identification to be usedin a transaction. The present invention can also be configured toperform an on-boarding process, enabling a money transfer provider todetermine whether to allow a user to become an agent of the moneytransfer provider. Each of these options will be described below in moredetail with reference to FIGS. 3-7.

FIG. 3 is a diagram representing a method to carry out a transaction tosend money, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Amobile device running a mobile POS application can accept input from anagent, sender, or other user to initiate a transaction to send money,such as payment information and identification information. Paymentinformation can include payment amount, name(s) and/or uniqueidentifier(s) for one or more recipients, payment currency, destinationcountry and/or currency, etc. Identification information can includeinformation about the sender as well as information about an agent, andcan include various data as described above. Upon receiving the transferrequest 310, the money transfer provider system can then verifytransaction information 320. As part of this verification process, asdetailed above, the money transfer provider system can verifyinformation against internal and/or external databases to ensurecompliance with governmental regulations, proper identification andsufficient funds of source and destination accounts, properidentification of an agent associated with the mobile POS device, and/orperform other data verification measures. If the verification provessuccessful, the money transfer provider can then notify the agent viathe mobile POS application to confirm good funds 330. The agent can thencollect money from the sender, which can be in one or more forms (e.g.,cash, check, money order, credit or debit card, etc.) and confirmssuccessful collection of the funds to the mobile POS device, which canrelay confirmation to the money transfer provider system. The moneytransfer provider system, in turn, can debit the agent account 340either in real time or at a later point in time. The money transferprovider system can also log the transaction 350, by recording datarelating to the transaction in one or more internal and/or externaldatabases to preserve a record of the transaction. This data can be usedin a future transaction to receive the money transfer. The moneytransfer provider system can then return receipt information 360, whichmay comprise an MTCN, to the to the sender by transmitting theinformation to the mobile POS application. The money transfer providersystem can then notifies the recipient 370 of the money transfertransaction. The notification can be sent a variety of ways, such as atelephone call, telegram, email, SMS, U.S. postal letter, or other typeof message, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, the notificationcan provide the recipient with notification of the transfer transactionand instructions and/or options for receiving the money.

FIG. 4 is a diagram representing a method to carry out a transaction toreceive money, according to one embodiment of the present invention. Amobile device running a mobile POS application can accept input from arecipient of a money transfer request, such as receipt information andidentification information. Receipt information can include paymentamount, name(s) and/or other information such as unique identifier(s)for the sender or receiver, location of where the correspondingtransaction to send money was initiated, and/or currency, etc. As with arequest to send money, identification information for a transaction toreceive a money transfer can include information about the recipient aswell as information about an agent, and can include various data asdescribed above. Upon receiving the receive payment request 410, themoney transfer provider system can then verify account information 420.Similar to the money transfer transaction, the verifying accountinformation for a transaction to receive money may include the moneytransfer provider system utilizing internal and/or external databases toensure proper identification and sufficient funds of source anddestination accounts, proper identification of an agent associated withthe mobile device, and/or perform other data verification measures. Uponsuccessful verification, the money transfer provider can then notify theagent via the mobile POS application to payout money to the recipient430. The agent pays money to the recipient, which can be in one or moreforms (e.g., cash, check, money order, credit or debit card, etc.) andverifies successful payout of the funds to the mobile POS device, whichrelays confirmation to the money transfer provider system. The moneytransfer provider system, in turn, credits the agent account 440 eitherin real time or at a later point in time, and logs the transaction 450.The recipient is then given a receipt 460. The receipt can be generatedfrom information provided by the money transfer provider to the mobilePOS device and/or the agent who paid funds to the recipient.

FIG. 5 is a diagram representing a method to calculate a payout amountand fees with a foreign exchange rate, according to one embodiment ofthe present invention. The process can be initiated by collectingtransaction information 510, such as a money transfer as detailed inFIG. 3, and may be performed in conjunction with and/or parallel to sucha money transfer, although it will be understood that this method can beperformed independently from a money transfer transaction. According tothe embodiment detailed in FIG. 5, the mobile POS device can then submitthis information 520 to a money transfer provider system. The mobile POSdevice can receive foreign exchange data 530 from the money transferprovider system, using the data to calculate payout amount and fees 540and provide the related information (e.g., foreign exchange rate, payoutamount, fees, etc.) to the user 550. In light of the disclosure above,it will be understood that the present invention contemplates many otherembodiments, including embodiments where a money transfer providersystem performs the calculation and/or the mobile POS device calculate aforeign exchange rate and/or payout amount by using data obtained fromremote sources other than a money transfer provider, such as theInternational Monetary Fund, government agencies, banks, corporations,etc.

FIG. 6 is a diagram representing a method of gathering photoidentification with a camera coupled with a mobile device executing amobile POS application for use in transactions conducted by the mobilePOS application, according to certain embodiments of the presentinvention. The method can be triggered by a request for photoidentification 610, which can occur at nearly any point during atransaction. For example, where a sender initiates a money transfertransaction, the mobile POS application itself can request photoidentification while collecting identification information from thesender and/or agent to transmit to a money transfer provider system forverification. According to other embodiments, the money transferprovider system can send a request to the mobile POS application forphoto identification after the money transfer provider system receivesidentification information from the mobile POS application, if, forexample, the money transfer provider system has no photo identificationfor the sender and/or agent associated with the previously-submittedidentification information. At some point after receiving the requestfor photo identification 610, the mobile POS application can activate acamera 620 coupled with the mobile device on which the mobile POSapplication is running. A user, such as an agent, can then use thecamera to take pictures 630. The pictures, which are typically stored onthe camera and/or mobile device as photographic data, can then be givena timestamp 640 and/or other identifying data. Such data is associatedwith and/or embedded into the photographic data representing thepictures, all of which can be transmitted with transaction information650 by a mobile POS application to a mobile transfer provider system.

FIG. 7 is a diagram representing an embodiment of a method forconducting an agent on-boarding process by utilizing the mobile POSapplication, according to the present invention. The method can beginwhere the mobile POS application receives an on-boarding request 710.This request can be initiated manually an applicant, selecting an optionprovided by the mobile POS application to begin the on-boarding process.According to other embodiments, the mobile POS application itself canautomatically initiate the on-boarding process as part of or shortlyafter the installation of the mobile POS application onto a mobiledevice. The mobile POS application can then collect applicantinformation 720. As discussed above, such information can include asliquidity for transactions, class of trade, and personal identificationinformation such as, address, phone number, email address, personalidentification number, account information (e.g., stored value accountidentifier, bank account number and/or ABA routing number), tax number(e.g., Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number),drivers' license number, state ID number, student ID number, etc.Collecting applicant information 720 can also include a method forgathering photo identification, such as that shown in FIG. 6, whereinthe mobile POS application can collect photos of the applicant, theapplicant's valid photo ID, and/or other objects or individuals foridentification and verification purposes. The POS application can alsocollect biometric and/or other data, as described above, in conjunctionwith or as part of collecting applicant information 720. Once theinformation is adequately collected, the mobile POS application cantransmit the applicant information 730 to a money transfer providersystem to process the applicant's application 740. As with othertransactions, the money transfer provider system may use internal and/orexternal databases, such as those maintained by governmental agencies,credit agencies, banks, and/or other entities, for processing andverification purposes. If the money transfer provider approves theapplicant to be an agent of the money transfer provider, the moneytransfer provider may also set up an account associated with theapplicant during or after processing the application 740. This accountmay be used for future money transfer transactions conducted by themobile POS application by the agent. Finally, after processing theapplication 740, the applicant then can be notified of approval ordenial of the application 750. This notification may be sent directly tothe mobile POS application by the money transfer provider system, and/orby any other means such as a telephone call, telegram, email, SMS, U.S.postal letter, or other type of message, or any combination thereof.Furthermore, the notification can contain any additional instructions tocomplete the application process.

In the foregoing description, for the purposes of illustration, methodswere described in a particular order. It should be appreciated that inalternate embodiments, the methods may be performed in a different orderthan that described. It should also be appreciated that the methodsdescribed above may be performed by hardware components or may beembodied in sequences of machine-executable instructions, which may beused to cause a machine, such as a general-purpose or special-purposeprocessor or logic circuits programmed with the instructions to performthe methods. These machine-executable instructions may be stored on oneor more machine readable mediums, such as CD-ROMs or other type ofoptical disks, floppy diskettes, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, magneticor optical cards, flash memory, or other types of machine-readablemediums suitable for storing electronic instructions. Alternatively, themethods may be performed by a combination of hardware and software.

The foregoing description further provided, for the purposes ofexplanation, numerous specific details to allow a thorough understandingof various embodiments of the present invention. It should be apparent,however, to one skilled in the art that embodiments of the presentinvention may be practiced without some of these specific details. Inother instances, well-known structures and devices were shown in blockdiagram form. These exemplary embodiments are not intended to limit thescope, applicability, or configuration of the disclosure. Rather, thedescription of the exemplary embodiments provides those skilled in theart with an enabling description for implementing an exemplaryembodiment. It should be understood that various changes may be made inthe function and arrangement of elements without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Also, it is noted that individual embodiments were described as aprocess and depicted as a flowchart, a flow diagram, a data flowdiagram, a structure diagram, or a block diagram. Although a flowchartcan describe the operations as a sequential process, many of theoperations can be performed in parallel or concurrently. In addition,the order of the operations may be re-arranged. A process is terminatedwhen its operations are completed, but could have additional steps notincluded in a figure. A process may correspond to a method, a function,a procedure, a subroutine, a subprogram, etc. When a process correspondsto a function, its termination can correspond to a return of thefunction to the calling function or the main function

Finally, while illustrative and presently preferred embodiments of theinvention have been described in detail herein, it is to be understoodthat the inventive concepts may be otherwise variously embodied andemployed, and that the appended claims are intended to be construed toinclude such variations, except as limited by the prior art.

1. (canceled)
 2. A method for performing transactions using atransaction system, the method comprising: receiving, by a transactionsystem, user information identifying a first user; determining, by thetransaction system, whether or not to permit the first user to be anauthorized agent permitted to enter transaction information forrequested transactions between senders and receivers, wherein theauthorized agent is separate and distinct from the transaction sendersand the receivers; in response to determining that the first user ispermitted to be an authorized agent for requested transactions: (a)assigning, by the transaction system, an identification number to apoint-of-sale application executing on a client device associated withthe authorized agent; (b) transmitting, by the transaction system, theidentification number to the client device; and (c) receiving, by thetransaction system, a unique identifier from the client device, whereinthe unique identifier is generated by the point-of-sale applicationexecuting on the client device based at least in part on theidentification number assigned by the transaction system; receiving, bythe transaction system, and from the point-of-sale application executingon the client device, transaction information for a first requestedtransaction between a first sender and a first receiver; determining, bythe by the transaction system, based the transaction information, thatphoto identification is required for one or more parties of the firstrequested transaction; transmitting, from the transaction system, arequest for photo identification for the one or more parties, to thepoint-of-sale application executing on the client device; receiving, bythe transaction system, image data from the point-of-sale applicationexecuting on the client device, the image data including the photoidentification for the one or more parties of the requested transaction;determining, by the transaction system, whether to process the firstrequested transaction between the first sender and the first receiver,based at least in part on a verification of the image data including thephoto identification for the one or more parties of the first requestedtransaction; and causing, by the transaction system, the first requestedtransaction to be initiated based at least in part on an affirmativedetermination to process the first requested transaction.
 3. The methodof claim 1, wherein the user information identifying the first user isreceived from the client device, and wherein the user informationincludes biometric data associated with the first user.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining whether to process the first requestedtransaction between the first sender and the first receiver is based atleast in part on (a) a verification of the image data including thephoto identification for the one or more parties of the first requestedtransaction, (b) verification of additional image data including a photoidentification of the authorized agent.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the client device is a mobile computing device and thepoint-of-sale application is a mobile point-of-sale applicationconfigured to execute on the mobile computing device.
 6. The method ofclaim 4, wherein communications between the transaction system and themobile computing system are transmitted over a wireless public mobilecommunications network.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein causing thefirst requested transaction to be initiated comprises: receiving atransaction amount associated with the transaction information for thefirst requested transaction; modifying the transaction amount based onthe authorized agent; and processing the first requested transactionwith the modified transaction amount.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining whether or not to permit the first user to be an authorizedagent permitted to enter transaction information for requestedtransactions between senders and receivers, comprises: transmitting, bythe transaction system to the client device, real-time agent trainingmaterials; and determining that the first user has completed thereal-time training materials via the point-of-sale application executingon the client device.
 9. A computer system comprising: one or morenetwork interfaces; one or more processors; and memory communicativelycoupled with and readable by the one or more processors and havingstored therein processor-readable instructions which, when executed bythe one or more processors, cause the computer system to: receive userinformation identifying a first user; determine whether or not to permitthe first user to be an authorized agent permitted to enter transactioninformation for requested transactions between senders and receivers,wherein the authorized agent is separate and distinct from thetransaction senders and the receivers; in response to determining thatthe first user is permitted to be an authorized agent for requestedtransactions: (a) assign an identification number to a point-of-saleapplication executing on a client device associated with the authorizedagent; (b) transmit the identification number to the client device; and(c) receive a unique identifier from the client device, wherein theunique identifier is generated by the point-of-sale applicationexecuting on the client device based at least in part on theidentification number assigned by the computer system; receive, from thepoint-of-sale application executing on the client device, transactioninformation for a first requested transaction between a first sender anda first receiver; determine based the transaction information, thatphoto identification is required for one or more parties of the firstrequested transaction; transmit a request for photo identification forthe one or more parties, to the point-of-sale application executing onthe client device; receive image data from the point-of-sale applicationexecuting on the client device, the image data including the photoidentification for the one or more parties of the requested transaction;determine whether to process the first requested transaction between thefirst sender and the first receiver, based at least in part on averification of the image data including the photo identification forthe one or more parties of the first requested transaction; and causethe first requested transaction to be initiated based at least in parton an affirmative determination to process the first requestedtransaction.
 10. The computer system of claim 8, wherein the userinformation identifying the first user is received from the clientdevice, and wherein the user information includes biometric dataassociated with the first user.
 11. The computer system of claim 8,wherein determining whether to process the first requested transactionbetween the first sender and the first receiver is based at least inpart on (a) a verification of the image data including the photoidentification for the one or more parties of the first requestedtransaction, (b) verification of additional image data including a photoidentification of the authorized agent.
 12. The computer system of claim8, wherein the client device is a mobile computing device and thepoint-of-sale application is a mobile point-of-sale applicationconfigured to execute on the mobile computing device.
 13. The computersystem of claim 11, wherein communications between the computer systemand the mobile computing system are transmitted over a wireless publicmobile communications network.
 14. The computer system of claim 8,wherein causing the first requested transaction to be initiatedcomprises: receiving a transaction amount associated with thetransaction information for the first requested transaction; modifyingthe transaction amount based on the authorized agent; and processing thefirst requested transaction with the modified transaction amount. 15.The computer system of claim 8, wherein determining whether or not topermit the first user to be an authorized agent permitted to entertransaction information for requested transactions between senders andreceivers, comprises: transmitting real-time agent training materials tothe client device; and determining that the first user has completed thereal-time training materials via the point-of-sale application executingon the client device.
 16. A non-transitory machine readable mediumhaving instructions stored thereon, which, when executed by atransaction system comprising one or more processors, cause thetransaction system to: receive user information identifying a firstuser; determine whether or not to permit the first user to be anauthorized agent permitted to enter transaction information forrequested transactions between senders and receivers, wherein theauthorized agent is separate and distinct from the transaction sendersand the receivers; in response to determining that the first user ispermitted to be an authorized agent for requested transactions: (a)assign an identification number to a point-of-sale application executingon a client device associated with the authorized agent; (b) transmitthe identification number to the client device; and (c) receive a uniqueidentifier from the client device, wherein the unique identifier isgenerated by the point-of-sale application executing on the clientdevice based at least in part on the identification number assigned bythe transaction system; receive, from the point-of-sale applicationexecuting on the client device, transaction information for a firstrequested transaction between a first sender and a first receiver;determine based the transaction information, that photo identificationis required for one or more parties of the first requested transaction;transmit a request for photo identification for the one or more parties,to the point-of-sale application executing on the client device; receiveimage data from the point-of-sale application executing on the clientdevice, the image data including the photo identification for the one ormore parties of the requested transaction; determine whether to processthe first requested transaction between the first sender and the firstreceiver, based at least in part on a verification of the image dataincluding the photo identification for the one or more parties of thefirst requested transaction; and cause the first requested transactionto be initiated based at least in part on an affirmative determinationto process the first requested transaction.
 17. The non-transitorymachine readable medium of claim 15, wherein the user informationidentifying the first user is received from the client device, andwherein the user information includes biometric data associated with thefirst user.
 18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 15,wherein determining whether to process the first requested transactionbetween the first sender and the first receiver is based at least inpart on (a) a verification of the image data including the photoidentification for the one or more parties of the first requestedtransaction, (b) verification of additional image data including a photoidentification of the authorized agent.
 19. The non-transitory machinereadable medium of claim 15, wherein the client device is a mobilecomputing device and the point-of-sale application is a mobilepoint-of-sale application configured to execute on the mobile computingdevice.
 20. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 18,wherein communications between the transaction system and the mobilecomputing system are transmitted over a wireless public mobilecommunications network.
 21. The non-transitory machine readable mediumof claim 15, wherein causing the first requested transaction to beinitiated comprises: receiving a transaction amount associated with thetransaction information for the first requested transaction; modifyingthe transaction amount based on the authorized agent; and processing thefirst requested transaction with the modified transaction amount.